DATE: Friday, September 26, 1997            TAG: 9709240111

SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 03   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JENNIFER C. O'DONNELL, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   74 lines

HANDS-ON THERAPY BUSINESS OPENS ITS CHAIRS IN GREENBRIER

FOR MAUREEN KLEIMAN, message therapy isn't a job, it's a calling.

``It's not for everyone,'' said Kleiman of her profession. ``You have to want to be a caretaker.''

Kleiman is the owner and director of the Chesapeake Institute of Therapeutic Massage, a new business located in the Greenbrier section of the city.

The institute opened in August and for Kleiman, the business is the culmination of years of hard work.

For 10 years, Kleiman worked for The Fuller School of Massage Therapy in Virginia Beach. She started in the business as an office assistant and at the time, had no experience in the massage profession.

``I couldn't answer the clients' questions because I didn't have the knowledge,'' Kleiman said. That changed when her boss and the owner of the business, Pauline Fuller, decided to send Kleiman to massage school. Eventually, the one-time office assistant became a full-time massage therapist and massage instructor.

Although Kleiman enjoyed working for The Fuller School, she knew it was time to move on.

``I wanted something of my own,'' Kleiman said.

In June, Kleiman signed a contract for office space in the Greenbrier Station office complex near Greenbrier Mall. Kleiman said she decided on Chesapeake for the location of her business because she knew many city residents had to travel to Virginia Beach to receive quality massage therapy.

The office suite previously housed a dental practice so it had to be gutted and redesigned before the first client could be seen.

Kleiman was helped during the reconstruction phase by Chuck Enlow, a fellow massage therapist and former student of hers. Enlow's past experience in construction helped facilitate the remodeling and in mid-August, Kleiman and her crew were ready for their first patient.

Now, the institute houses 10 massage rooms, one of which is handicapped accessible with wide doorways and an hydraulic massage table.

Each room is equipped with a massage table, soft lighting and a wooden table where oils and lotions are kept.

Clients, or patients as Kleiman likes to call them, can opt for a swedish massage, myotherapy, neuromuscular pain relief, shiatsu, reiki, acupressure, aromatherapy and other therapies. Since most clients aren't well educated on massage techniques, Kleiman, Enlow or another staff member will quiz the patron so that the best technique is utilized.

To help relax the client, background music can be played in each of the rooms. Selections include soft jazz, Indian music and ocean breakers as well as New Age selections.

Already the business has attracted a wide client base.

``My youngest patient is 2 months old and my oldest is 84,'' Enlow said.

In addition to the institute, Kleiman and Enlow are renovating another office suite in Greenbrier Station that will house a school of massage therapy. Kleiman expects the school will begin instructing its first students in early November.

The school is presently pending certification from the Virginia Board of Nursing.

While Kleiman said her school of massage therapy will be open primarily to serious students of the trade, ordinary folks will also be able to benefit from her hands-on expertise by taking workshops on popular massage techniques. Kleiman expects to offer workshops, such as couples massage, infant massage and reflexology. MEMO: The Chesapeake Institute of Therapeutic Massage is located at 1011

Eden Way North, Suite A, 549-4440. Prices range from $15 for a chair

massage to $50 for a 1 1/2 hour massage. Half-hour and hour massages are

also available. The institute also offers facials. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS

Massage technician Chuck Enlow and Maureen Kleiman, owner of the

Chesapeake Institute of Therapeutic Massage, give a chair massage to

client Dottie Priest in the Greenbrier Station office complex.

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